Lentil and Vegetable Soup

This is really more a soup for winter, but being Asian we love hot soups any time of year. The original recipe calls for masoor dhal, but since all I had on hand was a large bag of organic green lentils, I used those. No one complained. I also doubled most of the ingredients, since I needed a dish for 6 people. The original recipe serves 4.

3 tablespoons ghee or butter
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon whole black pepper corns
1 long dried red chilies, chopped (the recipe called for 2, but since I used my dried homegrown cayennes from a year ago, and knew exactly how hot they were I used just one)
1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek
2 tablespoons minced garlic
20 dried curry leaves
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 cup lentils
5 cups hot water
2 cups finely chopped green beans
4 cups finely chopped green cabbage
2 cups very small cauliflower florets
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
2 tablespoons tamarind juice

Heat ghee or butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black peppercorns, chopped dried chili, fenugreek seeds, garlic, curry leaves, and turmeric. Cook for 1 minute, swirling pan gently. Add lentils and stir for 1 minute. Add hot water, increase heat and bring to a boil. When boiling, reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Puree in a blender (or use a hand-held one) until smooth and return to saucepan (strained if you like). Add green beans and cook 3-4 minutes. Add cabbage and cook 3-4 more minutes, then the cauliflower for 2-3 minutes. Season to taste with the salt and tamarind juice.